Royals’ Danny Duffy stares down Mike Moustakas during spring training matchup
Kansas City Royals veteran left-handed pitcher Danny Duffy came away pleased after his first Cactus League start of spring training.
He didn’t cruise. He had to work through a legitimate top half of the Cincinnati Reds lineup, but he felt good about the way he threw and how his pitches moved.
Duffy allowed one run on two hits, a walk and two strikeouts in two innings of the Royals’ 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds Thursday night at Goodyear Ballpark in Arizona. Ryan O’Hearn and Nick Pratto hit home runs for the Royals, while Bobby Witt Jr. came all the way to score on a fielding error on a fly ball to left field. Andrew Benintendi doubled and scored a run.
Hanser Alberto and Jeison Guzman also drove in runs.
“I thought Duff’s stuff looked good,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “He did a great job of managing a couple errors behind him, keeping his focus, continuing to make pitches.”
Duffy’s first inning included a match-up against former Royals teammate and All-Star infielder Mike Moustakas. With two men on and one out, Moustakas hit an RBI single up the middle to give the Reds an early lead.
“It’s similar to when I faced (Eric Hosmer) the first time he was in the other dugout,” Duffy said. “I felt like I beat him in. Just missed. Then beat him with another heater. He’s got really quick hands. That’s what makes him great. He was able to push that ball into center field. It was fun seeing him. It’s always a fun time seeing old friends.”
Duffy faced six batters in the first inning and had to work around a little bit of traffic on the bases.
He allowed two hits and a walk in the first frame against a lineup that featured Reds major-league regulars Jesse Winkler, Joey Votto, Eugenio Suárez, Moustakas and Tucker Barnhart.
“I threw 45 pitches in two innings, which kind of used to be par for the course for me, but I was working on a lot,” Duffy said. “There was a lot of things I was trying to accomplish out there that didn’t necessarily have to do with what I normally do.
“I was pleased with the amount of weak contact, really pleased with my slider. I don’t think it’s ever been this good this early. I didn’t stop throwing (in the offseason), and I think that kind of plays into what I’m doing out here right now.”
Right-hander Ervin Santana allowed two runs on three hits and struck out two in two innings of work for the Royals.
Jesse Hahn, Jon Heasley, Jake Brentz, Collin Snider and Jake Newberry pitched one scoreless inning apiece.
Injury update
Shortstop Adalberto Mondesi still has not appeared in a Cactus League game for the Royals despite actively participating in camp since the first week of full-squad workouts.
He was hit in the foot by a pitch during training before he arrived at camp, according to Matheny, and the training staff advised he progress slowly to start camp.
Matheny said Mondesi was scheduled to take part in base running and sliding drills on Thursday.
Minor-league catcher MJ Melendez wasn’t cleared for participation in camp at the start of full-squad workouts for an undisclosed reason, but he is taking part this week. He also has not appeared in a Cactus League game. Matheny said Melendez would catch a couple live batting practice sessions in camp on Thursday.
Filly finds a home
Right-handed pitcher Heath Fillmyer agreed to a minor-league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Fillmyer, 26, pitched for the Royals in 2018 and 2019. The Royals acquired him from the Oakland Athletics along with right-hander Jesse Hahn in a trade that sent designated hitter Brandon Moss, left-hander Ryan Buchter and cash to the Athletics in January 2018.
The Royals designated Fillmyer for assignment in January 2020 and assigned him outright to Triple-A Omaha later that month. He was assigned to the alternate training site in July and released in August.
In 29 major-league appearances (16 starts), he posted a 4-4 record with a 5.07 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP, 72 strikeouts, 44 walks and a .267 opponent’s batting average in 104 2/3 innings.
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 11:11 PM.
